Minnesota utility crews head to Florida to make sure people have electricity

Approximately 16 municipal utility companies from around the state met up at Rochester Public Utilities Saturday morning to go over the game plan and gather equipment and supplies before heading to Florida.

They love what they do, and despite the possibility of hitting the storm right as they get to Kissimmee, Florida they know it's what they have to do.

"When Texas got hit, a lot of the other electrical companies in the southern area moved over to Texas to help out. And now they're short-handed, and with this big of a storm coming in they're asking for some of the northern boys to come down and help out," said Rochester Public Utilities Lead Lineman Chuck Floeter. "We could be driving right down into it. We're really not sure what to expect, I suppose by the time we hit the border it's probably gonna hitting us."

They are leaving their families, for weeks or even months, to help those in need.

"It's kinda hard to leave family back here 'cause we might be gone for quite a while," said Floeter. "That puts a lot of pressure on them."

The plan is to have them report to the local public power provider Kissimmee Utility Authority in Kissimmee Florida, and prepare to help customers in that area or where needed.

"We wanna keep the lights on. It doesn't matter if it's a little storm up here in Rochester or if it's a big hurricane down in Florida, I don't know it's kind of like our war. That's what we wanna do - we wanna go down there, and we wanna fight, we wanna get the lights back on," said Floeter.

They'll work 16 hours to a day to do that.

"All the lines could be ripped down. And basically we could be staring over from scratch, rebuilding it new," said Floeter.

They said a prayer, said 'see you later' to their families, and headed south. They are on their way to Kentucky, then Georgia and then Florida.

A Blue Earth county couple was found dead after an apparent murder-suicide 9 p.m. Friday. The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office responded to a domestic altercation between a husband and wife identified as Timothy Moore, 57, and Lori Moore, 49. While deputies were responding to the scene, Timothy Moore came on the phone and told dispatch that he shot his wife and she was dead. He also told dispatch that he intended to take his own life.

A Blue Earth county couple was found dead after an apparent murder-suicide 9 p.m. Friday. The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office responded to a domestic altercation between a husband and wife identified as Timothy Moore, 57, and Lori Moore, 49. While deputies were responding to the scene, Timothy Moore came on the phone and told dispatch that he shot his wife and she was dead. He also told dispatch that he intended to take his own life.

Mayo Clinic's consolidation of services is hitting another small town. The Clinic said Friday afternoon that it will close the Adams Clinic in May, only months after closing its clinic in nearby Le Roy.

Mayo Clinic's consolidation of services is hitting another small town. The Clinic said Friday afternoon that it will close the Adams Clinic in May, only months after closing its clinic in nearby Le Roy.

Sign painting used to be popular years ago, but not so much in today's world. One Mazeppa man is using his talent of sign painting to try and reinvigorate it into the modern era. "He did a workshop in Vienna in September so I decided to meet him in his hometown," said Malgorzata "Maggie" Mozdyniewicz, who was visiting from Austria. She says the practice isn't common in her country anymore, and she hopes to bring it back.

Sign painting used to be popular years ago, but not so much in today's world. One Mazeppa man is using his talent of sign painting to try and reinvigorate it into the modern era. "He did a workshop in Vienna in September so I decided to meet him in his hometown," said Malgorzata "Maggie" Mozdyniewicz, who was visiting from Austria. She says the practice isn't common in her country anymore, and she hopes to bring it back.

Winter is almost over and Spring thoughts were in the air on Friday at the Rochester RV and Camping Show. The show, which is free and runs through the weekend at the Mayo Civic Center, gives people the opportunity to shop the latest and newest in camping technology.

Winter is almost over and Spring thoughts were in the air on Friday at the Rochester RV and Camping Show. The show, which is free and runs through the weekend at the Mayo Civic Center, gives people the opportunity to shop the latest and newest in camping technology.

A Blue Earth county couple was found dead after an apparent murder-suicide 9 p.m. Friday. The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office responded to a domestic altercation between a husband and wife identified as Timothy Moore, 57, and Lori Moore, 49. While deputies were responding to the scene, Timothy Moore came on the phone and told dispatch that he shot his wife and she was dead. He also told dispatch that he intended to take his own life.

A Blue Earth county couple was found dead after an apparent murder-suicide 9 p.m. Friday. The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office responded to a domestic altercation between a husband and wife identified as Timothy Moore, 57, and Lori Moore, 49. While deputies were responding to the scene, Timothy Moore came on the phone and told dispatch that he shot his wife and she was dead. He also told dispatch that he intended to take his own life.

The mass shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead has sparked calls for walkouts, sit-ins and other actions on school campuses nationwide aimed at pushing lawmakers to pass tougher gun laws.More >>

The mass shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead has sparked calls for walkouts, sit-ins and other actions on school campuses nationwide aimed at pushing lawmakers to pass tougher gun laws.More >>

Sign painting used to be popular years ago, but not so much in today's world. One Mazeppa man is using his talent of sign painting to try and reinvigorate it into the modern era. "He did a workshop in Vienna in September so I decided to meet him in his hometown," said Malgorzata "Maggie" Mozdyniewicz, who was visiting from Austria. She says the practice isn't common in her country anymore, and she hopes to bring it back.

Sign painting used to be popular years ago, but not so much in today's world. One Mazeppa man is using his talent of sign painting to try and reinvigorate it into the modern era. "He did a workshop in Vienna in September so I decided to meet him in his hometown," said Malgorzata "Maggie" Mozdyniewicz, who was visiting from Austria. She says the practice isn't common in her country anymore, and she hopes to bring it back.

Whether amateur or professional, it takes a great pair of skates to keep you on your feet. Riedell Skates in Red Wing has been making ice skates for more than seven decades for Olympians like Johnny Weir, Michelle Kwan, Jeremy and Abbott, but also for average folks too. More than 100 employees help create up to 240 pairs of ice and roller skates each day.

Whether amateur or professional, it takes a great pair of skates to keep you on your feet. Riedell Skates in Red Wing has been making ice skates for more than seven decades for Olympians like Johnny Weir, Michelle Kwan, Jeremy and Abbott, but also for average folks too. More than 100 employees help create up to 240 pairs of ice and roller skates each day.